Elite Eight preview: Michigan vs. Florida in South Regional Final

The Michigan band perform before a regional semifinal game against Kansas in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Fresh off a miracle comeback in Friday's 87-85 victory over top-seeded Kansas, No. 4 seed Michigan looks to keep the good vibes rolling as they take on No. 3 seed Florida in the South Regional Final today. Here’s everything you need to know before tuning in:

Florida is in the Elite 8 for the third consecutive year, though losses in 2011 (as a No. 2 seed, to Butler) and 2012 (as a No. 7 seed, to Louisville) have kept the Gators out of the Final Four since winning back-to-back national titles in 2006-07. Meanwhile, Michigan is playing on the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 1994 — and now find themselves one win away from their first Final Four appearance since the days of Chris Webber.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Michigan guard Trey Burke was scoreless in the first half on Friday as Michigan trailed Kansas by six at the break. The 6-foot senior poured in all 23 of his points in the final 25 minutes, including the biggest shot of his life — an NBA-range 3-pointer with under five seconds remaining in regulation — to force overtime and keep the Wolverines' season alive. Burke, the Big 10 Player of the Year, is just 15 points shy of 1,200 for his career — and he’s only just finishing up his sophomore campaign.

For Florida, keep an eye on senior Mike Rosario. He's been streaky in his two years as a Gator after transferring from Rutgers, but seems to be hitting his stride in the playoffs. After averaging 15.7 points per game over nine contests from Jan. 30-Feb. 26, he then slumped to just 8.6 ppg over the next seven. In his last two tournament games, however, he poured in 25 against Minnesota and posted a game-high 15 in Friday’s win over Florida Gulf Coast.

GATOR BALANCE

Though Rosario is Florida’s leading scorer at 12.6 ppg, he’s only there by the skin of his teeth. His total of 441 points on the season is just one tick higher than teammate Erik Murphy’s. Kenny Boynton (12.0 ppg), Patric Young (10.2) and Scottie Wilbekin (9.3) give the Gators five players who average nine points per game or better.

All five, plus freshman Michael Frazier II, have led the team in scoring at some point this season.

RELAXED MICHIGAN

There’s an understandably high amount of pressure on this current group of Wolverines, who are trying to end a fairly ugly 20-year stretch of postseason basketball in Ann Arbor. That doesn’t mean that the team is affected by that pressure. In fact, as Kyle Meinke of MLive.com writes, they seemed to be handling it quite well following Friday's big win:

There was a buzz emanating from all corners of the team's expansive locker room at Cowboys Stadium. Reporters huddled around Burke, the man of the hour, and Mitch McGary, the hot new thing.

But there was forward Jon Horford, off in a far corner ... reading a book.

One more time: Jon Horford, 15 minutes after advancing to the Elite Eight in one of his school's most exciting tournament games ever, was reading a book.

STAT OUTLOOK

When Michigan has the ball, it’ll be the nation’s most efficient offense going against Florida’s second-ranked defense. The Gators also have the fifth-best offense in the country, and the Wolverine’s defense (ranked 45th) is nothing to sneeze at either.

The only area both teams struggle with is their respective ability to get to the free-throw line. Michigan’s free-throw rate (FTA/FGA) is just .279, the 338th-worst mark in the country; Florida’s (.331) is 294th nationally. Both teams also do a good job of limiting their own fouls; the Wolverines are actually the best squad in the country with an opponents’ free-throw rate of .221.

The only other massive difference between the teams is overall experience. Florida has one of the oldest teams in the country with a starting rotation that comprises three seniors and two juniors, and a bench that features three juniors and just one freshman. Michigan, though led by sophomore Burke and junior guard Tim Hardaway Jr., also boasts a trio of freshman in Mitch McGary, Nik Stausaks and Glenn Robinson III. When weighed by minutes played, the Wolverines are the sixth-youngest team in the country.